New Report: A Congressional Survey of Workers’ and Learners’ Priorities

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies released the third analysis — “Building a More Inclusive Agenda: A Survey of Congressional Priorities Across Race — Priorities for Workers and Learners” that tracks what Americans believe Congress should prioritize.

As part of its Data for Black America Project, the Joint Center partnered with NORC at the University of Chicago to survey more than 1,200 Americans across race and ethnicity to understand the importance of priorities for members of Congress. The workers’ and learners’ issues include expanding access to quality job training programs, paid family and medical leave, and affordable child care; protecting the rights of workers to form or join a union; ensuring that employers pay wages that keep up with the cost of basic necessities; increasing the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour; and allowing students to use Pell grants to make short term training programs more affordable.

Of the workers’ and learners’ priorities surveyed, ensuring employers pay wages to keep up with the cost of basic necessities had the highest priority rating at 73 percent. Only seven percent of the population surveyed believe that Congress should not ensure that employers pay wages keep up with the cost of basic necessities. Aligning with employers wages keeping up with basic needs, most respondents (70 percent) believe that increasing the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour should be an important or top priority for Congress. Only eight percent of those surveyed believe that Congress should not increase the federal minimum wage.

Respondents evaluated the level of importance of several issue areas, categorizing them as a top priority, an important but lower priority, not too important a priority, or something that should not be done. Hispanic respondents rated all of the workers’ and learners’ priorities the lowest of any racial group. Topline results include:

• • Around three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents agree that ensuring employers pay wages to keep up with the cost of basic necessities should be an important or top priority for Congress.
    • Black respondents (67 percent) were significantly more likely than Asian American/Pacific Islander, multiracial, other non-Hispanic (54 percent), white (46 percent), and Hispanic (45 percent) respondents to believe that ensuring that employers pay wages that keep up with the cost of necessities should be a top priority for Congress.
  • Most respondents (70 percent) believe that increasing the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour should be an important or top priority for Congress.
    • Black respondents (79 percent) and Asian American/Pacific Islander, multiracial, other non-Hispanic respondents (77 percent) are more likely than white respondents (71 percent) and Hispanic respondents (61 percent) to believe that increasing the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour should be an important or top priority for Congress.
  • About two-thirds (66 percent) of all respondents say that expanding access to paid family and medical leave should be an important or top priority for Congress.
    • Black (79 percent) and Asian American/Pacific Islander, multiracial, other non-Hispanic (74 percent) respondents are significantly more likely than white (65 percent) and Hispanic (60 percent) respondents to believe that expanding access to paid family and medical leave should be an important or top priority for Congress.
  • Over two-thirds (68 percent) of all respondents say that expanding access to affordable childcare should be an important or top priority for Congress.
    • Asian American/Pacific Islander, multiracial, other non-Hispanic (79 percent) and Black (73 percent) respondents are significantly more likely than white (68 percent) and Hispanic (58 percent) respondents to believe that expanding access to affordable child care should be an important or top priority for Congress.
  • Sixty percent of all respondents said that Congress should protect the rights of workers to form or join a union.
    • Black (71 percent) respondents are significantly more likely than white (59 percent), Asian American/Pacific Islander, multiracial, other non-Hispanic (55 percent), and Hispanic (54 percent) respondents to believe that protecting the rights of workers to form or join a union should be an important or top priority for Congress.
  • Over 70 percent of all respondents say that expanding access to quality job training programs should be an important or top priority for Congress.
    • Just 62 percent of Hispanic respondents say that expanding access to quality job training programs should be an important or top priority for Congress, which is lower support for expanding access to quality job training programs when compared to Black (76 percent), Asian American/Pacific Islander, multiracial, other non-Hispanic (74 percent), and white (72 percent) respondents.
  • Almost two-thirds of respondents (64 percent) believe that allowing students to use Pell grants to make short-term programs more affordable should be an important or top priority for Congress.
    • Black respondents (74 percent) and Asian American/Pacific Islander, multiracial, other non-Hispanic respondents (73 percent) are more likely than white respondents (64 percent) and Hispanic respondents (58 percent) to believe that allowing students to use Pell grants to make short term programs more affordable should be an important or top priority for Congress.

Data from more than 1,200 Americans was collected online between Jan. 26-30, 2023 using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel. The Data for Black America Project aims to inform decision-makers about the challenges Black Americans face and provide scholars with valuable data to use in the future. This initiative will periodically field surveys and conduct focus groups on various economic and political issues of particular relevance to Black communities.

Click here to see the full analysis.

To read “Building a More Inclusive Agenda: A Survey of Congressional Priorities Across Race — Racial Equity Priorities, click here. To read the introductory congressional priorities blog post, click here.